NEW YORK — Federal prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation into allegations that the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers helped to arrange secret sponsorship contracts for All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard to circumvent the league’s salary cap, according to a published report.
The New York Times, citing unnamed sources “briefed on the matter,” reported that the probe is in its early stages and will be led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn.
The report comes slightly more than a week after the NBA levied the largest punishment in league history against the Clippers and owner Steve Ballmer, fining the team $30 million and taking away five first-round picks beginning in 2029 and concluding in 2033.
Federal prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation into allegations that the Los Angeles Clippers helped arrange secret sponsorship contracts for Kawhi Leonard that circumvented the salary cap, according to people briefed on the matter. https://t.co/UPfetm2edk
— The New York Times (@nytimes) September 11, 2026
That disciplinary action came after the NBA conducted a yearlong investigation and determined that the Clippers violated salary cap rules to help send millions of dollars to Leonard.
Federal prosecutors began studying the case before the NBA issued its punishments, the Times reported.
Other penalties handed down last week by the league, according to The Athletic, included a five-year ban from engaging with NBA teams for Leonard’s uncle, Dennis Robertson; Leonard, who allegedly made millions from the deal, is required to pay back $700,000; and Clippers president Lawrence Frank was suspended for six months. In addition, Gillian Zucker, the team’s president of business operations, was suspended for one year.
[ NBA fines Clippers $30M, takes away 5 first-round picks for salary cap violations ]
The federal inquiry’s scope, targets and the possible crimes being examined were unclear, according to the Times. But prosecutors have issued at least one subpoena as part of the investigation, sources told the newspaper.
John Marzulli, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office, declined to comment, according to the Times. Spokespersons for the Clippers and the NBA did not respond to messages seeking comment on whether they are cooperating with the investigation or if they received a subpoena, the newspaper reported.
The federal investigation would mark the second time that a government entity is asking about the Clippers and the team’s financial dealings with Kawhi, ESPN reported.
On Sept. 2, the same day the NBA announced its findings and punishment for the Clippers and Leonard, an executive for scoreboard company Daktronics announced on a quarterly earnings call that it had been contacted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission about its dealings with Leonard.
According to ESPN, NBA investigators said the Clippers directed a kickback from a large scoreboard contract for Intuit Dome to Leonard in the form of a lucrative endorsement deal.
Under the NBA’s salary cap, the league limits how much a team can spend on its players.
Leonard signed a three-year deal with the Clippers in 2019 worth more than $100 million, the Times reported. According to the NBA’s investigation, Leonard, with Robinson as his representative, pressured the Clippers into providing lucrative endorsement deals that also skirted the salary cap, according to the newspaper.
The endorsements were never announced publicly. One agreement was a $28 million deal with Aspiration Partners, which has since declared bankruptcy, the Times reported. The company had also signed several deals with the Clippers and Ballmer, according to the newspaper.
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